New computer-generated relief maps of planet Earth show surface and undersea topography as it's never been seen before -- from 14 different space-like views and in high resolution.

The seafloor topography is the most detailed and comprehensive ever made publicly available, said Peter Sloss of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's (NOAA) National Geophysical Data Center. The images are based in part on satellite data collected in the 1970s.

Sea-surface heights mimic, on a more muted scale, the shape of the ocean floor below, Sloss explained. The extra gravity associated with an undersea mountain pulls water toward it, creating a hump in the ocean. Underwater trenches, on the other hand, create corresponding depressions in the water's surface.

The differences in height of the ocean's surface range from a few inches to a few yards (few centimeters to a few meters), Sloss said.

Scientists used other data, from sonar and actual physical depth measurements, to calibrate the satellite data and interpret the topography of the seafloor. Ocean waves and other short-term fluctuations in sea-surface height are filtered out.

Slides of the new images are a six-fold improvement over a previous set issued in 1991 from lower-resolution data, Sloss said.